Weapons attributions -- how should it be done ?

[RhysMichael]

I posted this both here and on another forum to try to get a broad spectrum of ideas. I wonder if attributions should follow historical lines ( who first used that type of sword ) or cultural lines ( such as who currently has the most people using it ). If a weapon is used by more than one group of people do we attribute the weapon to all of them or go by one of the above criteria ? I have no idea what the convention is on this and was wondering how most of the people here or people who write books and articles decide where a sword or other weapon is attributed to ( I know many of you here are published and probably have had to deal with this ) .

As some examples the takouba is attributed to the Taureg but is also found in the Hausa and Fulani peoples. Dha/Darb are often attributed to the Burmese but in fact there appear to be many styles used by many different ethnic groups. ( I know there is now a great deal of work here to delineate the attribution on these but it has been taken a great deal of effort by those working on it and they are constantly open minded for a better information on how it breaks down) . The kukuri in most popular literature is attributed to Nepal but I have been told by collectors that there are Indian versions to this. I am sure there are many other examples.

So what are the rules, conventions or thoughts on this ? I am sure there are many ideas on this as later someone is often ready to come along and claim it was done wrong.

Thanks